Congress party clarified on Sunday that the call was only for countrywide protests and not for a complete shutdown.

Allahabad: Samajwadi Party workers block railway track near Prayag Station as part of a nation-wide protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization move, in Allahabad on Monday. PTI Photo

The opposition parties led by Congress are organising ‘Jan Akrosh Divas’ on Monday to protest against the “poor” implementation of BJP-led central government’s demonetisation policy. The large-scale protests were first called by Congress party and other parties joined the call. However, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee – who has been spearheading the protests against demonetisation outside Parliament – has announced that her party will not join the protests. She said that it will add to the inconvenience of people who are already suffering because of demonetisation.

WATCH VIDEO: Nation-Wide Protest Against Demonetisation By Opposition

Apart from that, Janata Dal (United) is also not supporting the protests. Bihar Chief Minister and party president Nitish Kumar has said that he supports the demonetisation drive and only wants government to put an end to the inconvenience caused to people. Other parties including INLD in Haryana, Telangana Rashtra Samithihas and Karnataka Congress have also backed out of the protests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation policy on November 8.

Life has come to a standstill in Kerala with the ruling LDF backing the protests. However, state-run KSRTC buses have been exempted, along with tourism activities. Marriage parties and Sabarimala devotees have also been exempted.

The protest called by opposition parties today is expected to begin in the morning. Congress party has clarified that it has not called for a shutdown. The banks, government offices, schools, etc will function normally. The Bangalore University has postponed its exams because of the protest. There are reports that some universities in Kerala have also decided the same.